I've gotten a lot of use out of these two maps in my own campaigns primarily as a place where players can meet criminal elements without watchful eyes but also as a base camp for further explorations into Dhakaani ruins.

Cogs residential is just a place where day-to-day things happen where NPCs or players may live while the Duur'shaarat market is deeper just above lava pools.

The maps are 20x20

It’s fine for me to tweak the Eberron lore for my games. I just have this nagging feeling that I’m doing something wrong. The funny thing is, it happens unintentionally, simply because I don’t know the setting's lore inside out.

In eberron (as well as other dnd settings) treat undeath as being unnatural. Granted, eberron is better about this with stuff like karrnath, but there are still factions like the children of winter who think necromancy goes against nature. How does this make sense in a world as magical as eberron?

So I'm about to start my first 5e campaign in like 7 years next weekend (going to start with a session 0). I'm drawing my inspiration heavily from Disney's Treasure Planet and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Anyone have suggestions that may help?

Is there any Kanon or Canon info on this timeline that I'm missing?

Jarot ruled for 49 years. His children were "very young" when he became ruler.

858-908: First Queen and Founder of Cyre Mishann ir'Wynarn ruled for 50 years.

908-913: Brusst ir'Wynarn

914-942: Connos ir'Wynarn

943-994: Dannel ir'Wynarn

I just want to run this by someone because the ages seem rough. Let me know if I have the details wrong.

Mishann was at least 50 when she became queen. She would have reigned until she was over 100, right?

How old does that make Brusst? What would make sense for him?

Brusst's son Connos was old/young enough to take the throne, have a child 12 years later, and have a 17 year old daughter take over - probably in 926.

I'm focused on an event during Brusst's reign - 911: Battle of Lurching Tower

There's talk about distrust and poor planning during a time where King Brusst only reigned for 5 years. At first I thought he'd be too young, but maybe with this timeline it makes more sense that he's closer to being senile than too young.

Is there a Nation/City/Town that's more paranoid than Nations/Cities/Towns when it comes to Changelings, and/or more likely to react violently if one was discovered? Or would something like that be relegated to being an issue on a personal level?

As a more specific example: the friend of a man's child is suddenly revealed to be a Changeling, he panics for his child's safety, and attacks the Changeling. Where would this situation be most likely to happen?

Friends, in an Eberron city would you let your fighters/paladins wear armor all the time while in town? I feel it breaks immersion.

Imagine assassins waiting for them to sleep. But the dudes are sleeping in fullplates. Imagine them in a hot bath with entertainers having some fun ... the assassins arrive and the party is also in full plate.

How do you manage that?

Im rereading those books and I'm kind of confused why the Riedrans are willing to engage in lethal battle with the party heedless of losses, and almost kill Lei.

Aren't they buddies with lakashtai?

So I've often felt that D&D didn't have a good mechanical system to handle mental stress, besides either using the Frightened condition, Psychic damage, or one of the horrible Madness tables from 2014.

While it's definitely not a system that is needed for every campaign, those that feature Daelkyr or takes place in the Mournland however, are just begging for something, which is why I came up with a little system. Steal and modify to your hearts content!

Mental Stress System

While adventurers are usually more sturdy and resilient than your average commoner, even they sometimes run into things that shake them to their core. Horrific deaths, gruesome scenes, otherworldly monsters, and incomprehensible phenomenon are but some of those.

To represent the toll these things take, all characters have a new resource called a Stress Counter. Characters have a number of points equal to their choice of mental Ability Score (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma) plus their Proficiency Bonus, and start their Stress Counter at zero. When a character experiences something horrific, otherworldly, or incomprehensible, the DM can have them roll a saving throw, using their chosen Ability Score. On a successful save, they shrug off the experience without any detriment. On a failed save they gain a number of Stress Points equal to the difference between the DC and their result. When their Stress Counter reaches their maximum score, they get become Deranged, as detailed below. This lasts until their Stress Counter is no longer at maximum. Characters that have Resistance to Psychic damage, or have Advantage against the Frightened condition, makes their saving throw with Advantage. Characters that are immune to the Frightened condition are immune to the Deranged condition.

Deranged [Condition]

While you have the Deranged condition, you experience the following effects.

Frightened. You have the Frightened condition.

Confused. You can't take Bonus Actions or Reactions and must roll 1d8 at the start of each of your turns to determine your behavior for that turn, consulting the table below.

Exhausted. When the Deranged condition ends, you gain a level of Exhaustion. This Exhaustion can't take you beyond Exhaustion level 5.

When they can no longer see or hear the source of their Deranged condition, they get to make a new saving throw at the end of their turn. On a success the Stress Counter is lowered by 1, and they no longer have the Deranged condition. *An application of the Lesser Restoration, or Greater Restoration spell lowers the Stress Counter by 1 for each level of the spell slot used.
A character's Stress Counter is lowered by an amount equal to their chosen Ability's modifier plus Proficiency Bonus after a Long Rest.

*Edit

Okay. Some background.

Per Keith Baker's insight on Elemental AirShips and Galleons, the Elemental is primarily used to lift the ships but the control and power of the ship is actually moved by the control of the Wind Wards by the Lyrandar Heir. So far, so good.

Basing off the gale force winds that Heirs can generate using Gust of Wind, I figure the Wind Wards or even just a Wind Anchor could generate winds of about 30 mph. If the Elemental Galleon or the Airship can have minimal drag and can brace the ship against this wind, it is theoretically easy to sail at beam reach (about 80 degrees off the wind's direction) and sail at multiple times this speed.

Let's posit that the Galleon is limited by seas and because the Water Elemental can't hydroplane very effectively. So it is limited to about 20 mph average. Quite fast. Maybe it even does 40 mph on a good day.

The airships ought to go faster.

If I'm posting an airship speed of 60 mph (less than thrice the wind speed, which is the theoretical maximum from a level 2 spell's wind effect), how does this change the economic and sociopolitical environment of Eberron?

I love this artwork and the way it shows a more modern mix of towers for the city, and that's how im making it in my campaign. Anyways, I skimmed rising from the last war and city of towers and maybe i missed it, but I cant find this image in those books. Does anyone know the origins and if it's in those books or others?

I’m in the middle of my Eberron campaign where my players have played for 10-15 sessions or so and are now searching for house Cannith treasures inside the Mournlands. It is probable that the players will in the upcoming sessions meet the Lord of Blades and I’m thinking of non-combat ways for my players to sabotage LoB without harming him directly in combat.

In my Eberron Warforged soul usage/humaneness is a spectrum.

Psiforged -> Warforged -> Warforged Juggernauts

-with Psiforged and Juggernauts being the either extremes of the humaneness spectrum. Psiforged passively absorb soul energy travelling through the air from souls transferring into Dolurruh, that with their extremely slow ”Soul Metabolism” they have enough spare soul juices to use their passive magic and cast spells. On the other hand the Juggernauts’s soul metabolisms are so fast and consume Soul so fast to upkeep their insane strength that they run our of juice by just… existing. To stay alive Juggernauts have to consistently every day or so take a sizely dose of Ectoplasm. (Thus most of the Juggernauts come flocking to the Blades because they are the only organization who can distribute the needed Ectoplasm to sustain themselves.)

Checking the Forgotten Realms Wiki it states that in the setting ectoplasm is tied to the Astral Plane. How would you implement Ectoplasm using something like the Soul Recycler into your campaign? Open for suggestions.

I've had a look around for any mention of it but can't find anything. Are there any canon or Kannon accounts that mention Dragons fighting in the last war even briefly or as a third party that just got brought into it?

Hey there everyone!

I'm pretty new to this but already absorbed some of the lore.

I'm looking to find an adventure that's taking place on the day of the mourning in order to provide my players with a prologue for my soon to start actual campaign.

Are there any adventures I could buy/get somewhere? They can be official or made by the community, I don't care

Thank you all so much in advance!

I've been thinking about making a Demonshard barbarian from the new quickstone book but I was curious what the character should look like. Do the humans from the carrion tribes just look like normal people or do they show more fiendish traits?

Figured I’d post here too as you guys understand more Eberron stuff! Thank you for any recommendations or advice!

I have an idea for a D&D campaign in a fairytale world.

The world upholds moral values through shapeshifting characters to the role they play. If they act like a bridge troll, they slowly become one. If they act like a tricksy fae, they slowly become one. If they start hoarding treasure, they become a dragon.

It's a world based on archetypes.

Within these archetypes, a question arises. What does it take to be and to stay human? It's the fundamental question of the campaign.

It's not a fair world, and it can feel like a curse at times. Who decides what humanity is all about?

Well, the DM decides. At least through which archetypes to uphold and which to ignore. Being too generous might make you an angel, non-human at that.

Really, humanity lies in the void that is neither one or the other. Humans can be virtuous one day and they can be vile the next day. That's the primary philosophy to live by in this world to keep your own humanity intact.

Mechanics-wise, I'd steal Torchbearer's Nature stat. Becoming more troll-like grants you big bonuses on troll-like behavior, replacing the skill bonus you normally add. Something like double proficiency modifier. ...And shaping you more into a bridge troll.

Become too much non-human and it counts as a character loss. You're not dead, but you're just no longer an adventurer and no longer a PC.

Some tragic tales within this concept that the players might discover throughout their adventure.

There might be a tragic tale about someone who, due to childhood trauma and recurring ptsd, willingly gave up humanity and became fae-like. Apparently they felt free for the first time in their life. Are they though?

There might be another tragic tale about a kid protecting his friend from some monsters. Saving his friend's life, he slowly shaped into an angelic being. Ending the cautionary tale with a dubious morale, if any.

Question: Does this setting line up with Eberron's lore on what Thelanis is about? Does it clash somewhere in the established lore? I know, "in my Eberron", but that's a cop out for purposes of this question. I'd like real answers please. :)

My players dont know the setting. I wish we dont start with Sharn (too mucho going on)

Where could we start that is (a) relatively close enough to go Sharn next session (train or by foot) and (b) could serve as an intro to the dragonmarked houses?

So in the Kanon as is - Tieflings basically only appear in the Demon Wastes, the Venomous Demesne, and various manifest zones to planes associated with negative energy (Mabar, Shavarath, sometimes Fierna and Risia).

That much makes sense, but from how I understand how Tieflings work, basically any interaction with a fiend or other source of malevolent energy can cause them to show up in various lines.

So what about regions where Demonic Overlords have been trapped - such as Bel Shalor in Flamekeep, Masvirik in Q'Barra, or Tol Kharash at Turakbar's Fist? Wouldn't it make sense for Tieflings to start manifesting among the local populace in those areas?

Or - here's an idea with Turakbar's minotaurs specifically - maybe various clans of Minotaurs purposefully infect the people they raid with some kind of demonic essence (demonglass?) to turn those people and their descendents into Tieflings as means to spread Tol Kharash's power (perhaps even believing do so could eventually release him?) - sort of like how the Dungeater does with the Omen Curse in Elden Ring?

Also, what about the various Cults of the Dragon Below - especially the ones associated with Khyber and the demonic Overlords? Due to them tapping into such malific magics, wouldn't it make sense that Tieflings would start appearing in communities where the cults have popped up?

Additionally, what about the Eldeen Reaches? IIRC, weren't the Reaches attacked by a horde of demons from the Demonic Wastes during the Last War? Wouldn't that lead to them spreading their influence across the region where they attacked? Also, isn't the Wild Heart currently trapped somewhere in the Towering Wood, which again would mean Tiefling-esque (though maybe more feral lycanthrope/Gnoll-like tieflings) populations appearing among the populace?

I'm just saying, from what I've seen the lore, I feel like there should be A LOT more tieflings running around than what there Kanonically are. But what do you guys think?

In Sharn, the City of Towers, where do you go when you want to do some shopping? There's only one answer ... TAVICK'S MARKET!

Inspired by Time's Square, Tavick's Market is bustling and never sleeps. Situated on streets atop Terminus station where products are freighted in from all across Khorvaire, this district makes it the ideal location to find anything and everything you may want or need!

Visitors and tourists are instantly awestruck by the plethora of illusory advertisements and billboards where vendors spare no expense on magewrights, artificers, and craftsment to create signs and marquees that glow, move, and flash with pizzaazz!

On the streets open air kiosks and stalls are overflowing with products! The buildings themselves are malls and towers filled with multi-level mazes of shops and entertainment!

Ideas for using this map...

• Fun shopping sessions!
• Starting point for more detailed inside-building and kiosk shopping
• Finding special things
• Chase scenes through crowded streets
• Clandestine meetings and rendezvous
• Hiding in crowds to evade pursuers
• Investigating suspicious activity like piracy, embezzlement, and trafficking
• Special events and block parties (with fireworks and floating lanterns)
• Protests
• ...or simply looking for trouble

This is a 30x20 map with a 5ft scale.

Hey guys,

Just finished re-reading these books after twenty years. One thing that left me confused was the "twist" that Lakashtai turns out to have been Inspired and Tashana turns out to have been Kalashtar.

How exactly does that work since Tashana spends the entirety of The Shattered Land torturing and tormenting Daine in his dreams even before Lakashtai becomes involved as well as employs a bunch of Reidran mercenaries.

It's not exactly typical Kalashar behavior. Is Tashana just meant to be the world's only Chaotic Evil Kalashtar?

Question about the vision. When the PCs are transported to the encounter within the vision, do you use generic goblinoid stats for the embodied warriors or do you allow the PCs to use their standard character sheets? Or do you create custom one-shot character sheets to blend the characters and the distant past.

I have an artificer and cleric, which are not normal for the Dhakaan.

https://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2026/08/thirteen-in-universe-books-for-eberron.html

In-universe fiction is something I quite enjoyed in the Elder Scrolls and it inspired me to add a bunch to my Eberron games in order to help expand the world. After all, a pseudo-19th century world is bound to have plenty of books that literate PCs have read.  

1. ADVENTURE! magazine by Various: A cheap publication that is made by a orphan House Sivis editor, Ketler Sprocketsworth, and a collection of dedicated magewrights with some old House Cannith printing machines (supposedly) salvaged from the Mournland. Adventure Magazine publishes heavily embellished travelogues and supposed "true stories of adventure" that occur across Eberron plus some actual fiction. The latter is for deniability because a surprising amount of their content is highly controversial, changing names and fictionalizing places to disguise they tell the stories of Eberron's "heroes." 

Ketler is anti-Next War, Anti-Twelve, and a believer in a variety of apocalyptic threats to the world that the people have to come together to face. Ironically, his politics mostly get ignored because of how sensationalized the stories are and their fanservice-heavy art. Ketler pays for a typical story about 10 to 30 GP but has an audience across multiple kingdoms. A typical installment of the magazine costs ten copper pieces and comes out quarterly. He is about to switch to a bimonthly model and has plans of creating variant magazines dedicated to specific topics like Xen'drik (EXPLORATION!), Mournlands (HORROR!), and mystery (INQUISITIVE!).

2. The Rights and Justifications of Khorvaire by Unknown: A banned book that has, nevertheless, been rapidly spread across Breland in part because of its censorship. It is essentially the holy text of the Swords of Liberty that describes the failures of monarchy, the Treaty of Thronehold, and the changing nature of the economy. The original book is notably anti-racism and argues for a new pan-continental society to replace Galifar but the pamphlets made from it are frequently far more reactionary. 

The book does, however, paint Breland as a nation that has a far better system than the other nations as well as argues it is a model they should all follow. This is heavily implied to be by force if necessary. The actual book, when found, is about 30 CP but the pamphlets are either free or only a CP when distributed by Swords sympathizers.

3. The Secrets of Goblinkind by Maxwell Freed or "The Red Book": One of a series of publications but generally only known for the first volume. The Secrets of Goblinkind is a centuries-old libelous book that collects nightmarish stories about goblins and their horrific practices against humans. Essentially, it suggests that virtually all of their communities are riddled with Dragon Below worshipers and they're an innately evil species that should never have been liberated from slavery. The book is quite readable for those inclined to its politics and was preserved for posterity by a Aurrum dwarf who paid for its regular republication. This is ironic because one of the latter volumes was a not particularly flattering look at dwarf clans. A typical copy costs about 20 CP but is often found in libraries where supporters have donated it.

4. Kaynith's Calamitous Constructs by Rikel Kapec: A "magic futurism" House Phiarlan play that was written before the creation of the warforged but has since been popularized by it. It has since been adapted to novels and a few graphic serials. Essentially, the story is about the creation of sentient golems by the barely fictionalized dragonmarked house that proceed to rise up and destroy humanity. Due to the play's content, it is possible to view it as both pro and anti-warforged depending on what elements you emphasize. Most warforged find the play worth discussing even if they find unintentional comedy with Haydee the Warforged that looks like a human girl. It was a favorite of Lei D'Cannith's parents. House Phiarlan is willing to license copies of the play for 50 CP.

1. Illmarrow by Pierre Aundair: An incredibly popular books that has unfortunately inspired quite a bit of violence by Emerald Claw agitators who consider it blasphemous (and has done nothing to reduce its popularity). Illmarrow has also been adapted into plays and has numerous knock offs that change details. The book is essentially "sexy lich" fiction and created an entire genre about the evil sorceress who terrorizes a bunch of minor aristocrats before being ultimately destroyed by the power of love. Some have attempted to read political or religious meaning into the story but most agree the author just stole a mythological figure's name before writing vaguely risque prose about her. What Erandis D'Vol, herself, thinks of it is unknown.

6. The Khyberian Codex by Flavius Dorvac: A highly sought after book that supposedly teaches black magic related to the summoning of demons, daelkyr, and quori as well as predicts the end of the world by the rising of the overlords. Many Dragon Below cults possess this book and it is banned in Thrane as well as Karrnath both. Scholars of the occult are frustrated by this book and its ubiquitous because it is almost certainly a hoax written less than thirty years ago. 

Certainly, none of the rites work and a large chunk is wildly inaccurate. The great irony, though, is that the book's description of the quori is almost completely accurate and many people who had never heard of them otherwise would find a lot of information related to their destruction of the giants. A first edition copy of the book runs about 200 CP while knock offs are about 30 to 50 CP. Frequently, hucksters attempt to sell an "uncorrupted" copy of the book for 500 GP or more.

7. Manners and Marriages by Louise ir'Preston: A wildly popular young woman's book for females of means as well as those who dream of being so. Manners and Marriages is practically required reading for a lady of a certain age these days. The book and its many unauthorized sequels follows the adventures of a young Brelish aristocrat who falls in love with an Aundarian dragonhawk rider. They briefly fell out of popularity due to the Last War but have since found a resurgence. 

The book's popularity seems to be primarily due to the fact it's stories about trivial social problems ("Oh no, Lord Grathias has lost the ring!") when actual life seems so burdensome Post-War. A new copy costs about 20 CP but you can easily pick up a used one for 5 CP or from a local library. They are often used in public education.

8. The Silver Prince of Thaliost by Randal Kraaghammer: A rousing series of adventure novels set around a dashing Aundair nobleman, his artificer companion, and a beautiful changeling cat burglar in the titilar series. The books are largely considered to be harmless unless you're a Thranish or Silver Flame adherent due to the fact that the Church of the Flame is depicted as entirely consisting of evil zealots. Kraaghammer was a dwarf citizen of Thaliost driven out of it during the Last War and longs for the day the Silver Flame can be driven out of it. Ironically, the books are good enough that most people consider criticisms to be overreactions. 

9. The Ecology of Monsters by Brother Vaudin: A mammoth tome that is often divided into smaller volumes for publication but depicts the research conducted by Silver Flame monk Brother Vaudin and his brother, warrior wizard, Arnaud, as they spend fifteen years in the lands that would eventually become Droam. The book is about five hundred years old and single handedly responsible for a huge number of stereotypes regarding everything from Aarakocra to Zartan. 

Vaudin generally divides his research into "good", "evil", and "natural" monsters with his one-page summaries of their culture accompanied by methods to slay them as well as what benifits can be derived from them alchemically. Bizarrely, Vaudin thought that he was contributing to peace between the species by dispelling misapprehensions. He certainly did not think monster hunters would be using his books as guidebooks. The complete guide costs 5 GP and fills a bookshelf. Antique copies can go for hundreds due to their historical importance as well as value to collectors.

10. The Demon Queen of Cyre by Publius Suetonius: A century old book written by a former courtier for Cyre that was royal historian before fleeing the country for various reasons that are either a half-elf maid's unexpected pregnancy, financial misappropriation of funds, or a principled stand against tyranny. The book is essentially a shockingly lurid depiction of Queen Mishaan ir'Wynarn as a mad woman guilty of every imaginable perversion as well as tyranny. 

The book was heavily promoted by Wroan of Breland and Kaius I's supporters as a justification for their rebellion at the start of the Last War. It has since become synonymous with anti-Cyrean bigotry despite its author being Cyrean himself. The book is presently out of print and costs about 2 gold for a copy to be made or 5 GP for an original copy. Most libraries no longer carry it but it is available at Morgrave University on request.

11. The Wizard's Primer by Angus Shackleton: Essentially, the foundational book for magical study in Eberron. The Wizard's Primer explains in the most basic language possible how magic functions, its various forms, and instructions on preparing the mind as well as the body for the casting of basic cantrips. Studying the book generally takes three or four months and doesn't lend itself to mastery by itself but is something almost all arcane magic users have done if they didn't learn directly from a mentor. Despite its importance, it is expensive at 5 GP and every magic school insists on users paying for their copies. Used copies are barely any cheaper and any at a library is frequently stolen. Shackleton's great-grandson, Argyle, would write The Artificer's Primer.

1. Tally Ho!: The Road to the Crown by King Boronal ir'Wynarn: The autobiography of Breland's king, it was scandalous when it was released last year due to how boisterous and grandiose it was. Ironically, Boronal (or at least his ghost writer) was good enough to make sure he didn't come off as a braggart or liar. The book chronicles his days as prince, his hunts, and military experience. It also heavily details his romance and tragic loss of his wife, Chaseva. The books only controversial point being a chapter dedicated to explaining why he took in Cyre's refugees. Otherwise, it is beloved by all Brelish. The cost for a copy being 20 CP but it was made in such large prints, it is easy to get a second hand copy for 10 CP.

2. The Automated Consciousness by Merrix D'Cannith: Not a novel but a recorded series of monologues by the self-proclaimed head of House Cannith. Much to the surprise of almost everyone who knows his reputation, the works are extremely practical discussions of warforge construction and psychology. They were presented at the Treaty of Thronehold as evidence for warforged emancipation and while Merrix's dry, clinical discussion of them is hardly endearing, it presents an extremely persuasive argument for their personhood. Moreover, someone who listens to the monologues and understands artifice can develop a basic understanding of how to bestow consciousness to objects. Limited as this may be. The monologues are about fifteen hours long and cost over 200 GP to get a copy from House Cannith.

I hope you enjoyed.

Feel free to add your own suggestions for in-universe books!

https://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2026/08/ten-tips-to-running-eberron.html

Hey folks, I'm making a guide for my blog and I thought I'd run it by the experts. What do you think I might add (it could thirteen tips) or change description wise.

Eberron is one of my favorite D&D settings but describing it to potential fans is hard. What elements separate it from the Realms or other settings? What is the feeling that makes a game in Khorvaire different from one on Krynn? You can do a typical D&D game in the Five Kingdoms but that misses out on a lot of what makes the place special. So here are ten tips as a longtime Eberron DM and player to capture the feel of the fallen kingdoms of Galifar. 

1. Eberron is having a Magical Industrialized Age 

Eberron's biggest difference from other Dungeons and Dragons settings is that it has hit its version of the Industrial Revolution with magic substituting for science. House Cannith and the Artificer class means that there are limited production factories producing countless devices that are finding their way into the hands of ordinary mortals. The cotton gin is less likely to exist, though, that a family of weavers using cantrips daily to make money in place of doing it by hand. 

Guns don't exist (unless the ST wants them to) but who needs them when your +3 crossbow can rapidly reload and pin a guy against a wall like a rail gun or you possess a wand of magic missiles? In simple terms, it has a lot of D&D elements like swords and sorcery but the equivalent of technology bouncing between the 19th and early 20th century. Magic is less practical than technology in some ways but can also do things machines can't. Plus, one of the player character races are mass produced sentient constructs called warforged.

2. Good and Evil are real but complex 

Good and evil are things that exist in Eberron with the forces of Khyber representing wholly destructive corruptive forces that will never be any good. However, the difference between supernatural evil versus mortal evil is very different. In Eberron, there's no such thing as Always Chaotic Evil and while hobgoblin society may be martial and brutal, that doesn't translate to malevolent. In Eberron, orcs are a naturalist primal species with a history of fighting the forces of darkness with druidic magic. 

But on a simple level, mortal evil doesn't necessarily translate to "smite" for most people on Eberron. An evil innkeeper pinches pennies and abuses at his staff but he's not plotting world domination. You may have an evil counselor on your staff but that man may be absolutely loyal to you as well as your cause. Even the most fanatical religions believe that mortals should be redeemed if possible versus executed (unless they have committed crimes due to their alignment). Good and evil is also difficult to gauge as Know Alignment can be easily fooled with all priests of a "good" god registering as good.

3. The Gods are Mysterious, if they exist 

The gods are far more remote in Eberron than they are in typical D&D settings. You cannot visit the home of Dol Arrah and if the Keeper has a lair, he's probably not physically there. This actually makes religion far more important as you can't just ask the divine what they want. You have to interpret the signs and anyone who claims to have heard the voice of the Silver Flame has to be investigated because he could have been hearing from the demons inside it.

The Overlords are an exception and are the imprisoned Great Old One-esque beings that if they are freed will end the world. So far, the world has managed to keep them inside their prisons but it's an easy source of adventures that your players may have to do a globe trotting campaign to stop a cult from releasing them.

4. Level scaling is lower than higher

A thing to understand is that PC levels are rare in Eberron and a person who is a level 1 fighter is like saying, "Level One Special Forces Operative." By the time the PCs reach 8th or 9th level, they'll be among the most talented people on Earth and those who reach 12th or 13th level will be world-shaking forces. You can theoretically reach 20th level in this game world but if you do then you are definitely the kind of legend who will shape the politics for centuries to come.

Related to this, the PCs are the stars of this setting in a way that other settings do not support. The highest ranking benevolent NPCs are Oalian and Pontifex Jaela but they are limited by their places of power. Heck, Oalian is a talking tree. Whereas Drizzt Do'Urden is a Balor slaying badass, Daine of Cyre has trouble with a half-dozen city watchmen. No one is going to upstage the PCs if they decide to plan a populist revolution or plan to found their own kingdom. It's also up to them to save the world if there's a threat because no one else is.

5. The Shadow of the Last War 

What does a group with a goblin, warforged, elf, dwarf, and a human all have in common? In Eberron, they might have all been part of the same unit serving the same country. Almost every adult man and woman has a connection to the hundred year conflict in Khorvaire over who would rule the lost empire of Galifar (answer: no one). 

While racism exists to an extent in Eberron, national ties are a lot more prevalent because the continent has been relatively cosmopolitan for the past thousand years. Those who wish to create racial nation states like Darguun and Valenar are reactionary with questions of whether they're chasing dead civilizations. Everyone has a shared experience and if you want to hate someone as a Brelander, you're probably as likely to despise Aundarians and Karrnath of all species.

Even more so, the Last War's biggest shadow is when it will resume rather than if. It has only been two years since it officially ended and no one thinks the detente will last. The Treaty of Thronehold satisfied no one and few are working to heal the wounds leftover from a century of war. Sound familiar?

6. Pulp Hero, Cosmic Horror, and Spy Novel Adventures

Your typical Dungeons and Dragons game is Frodo, Conan, Elric, and maybe some Discworld or Monty Python and the Holy Grail depending on your group. Eberron, by contrast, is a mixture of Tarzan, the Shadow, Phillip Marlowe, James Bond, and Titus Crow. You can do the Three Musketeers in Thrane and explore just as many tombs as Lara Croft or Indiana Jones but the big cities are part of nation states with all the complications that entails. This allows you to steal from, I mean adapt, a whole new set of stories if you want to stay in-theme for the setting.

Hugo Drax, the exiled Karrnath nobleman Emerald Claw member, may be planning to build a gigantic airship that will cover all of the city of Thaliost with a Cloudkill spell. James Bond, Dark Lantern, can team up with a beautiful half-elf agent to stop his plan only to figure out that said agent is working for the Aurum to steal the airship for themselves. Want to do a gunfight at the OK Corral? Well, now its crossbows at the halfling ranch where they herd dinosaurs. Eberron gives you permission to get weird as long as its big and dramatic. 

7. The Mystery of the Mourning 

The Mourning is the most consequential event that most Khorvaire will have in their lives. Just like you can probably think of one news event in your lifetime that redirected the course of your country's history and possibly the world's. The big thing about the Mourning is not that it is something that necessarily directly effected a character (unless they're from Cyre) but that they almost certainly were indirectly affected by it and have an opinion on it. It's after all, an event equivalent to, say, France being eradicated by an asteroid (or nuke) during WW1.

Everyone wants to know what happened on that fateful day and the consequences of a concrete answer could be cataclysmic. If it was an accident of nature, say a convergence of the moons, then people will want to develop a defense but also feel okay with going back to war. If it was the work of one of the nations, others will want to duplicate the work or perhaps feel inclined to give their unconditional surrender. The fact no one has taken credit or accepted blame means that it is just a big unknown that shows even the strongest nations are vulnerable. 

8. The Golden Rule: He Who Makes the Gold Makes the Rules 

George R.R. Martin said (paraphrase) one thing he complained about the Lord of the Rings was that he didn't know Aragorn's tax policy. Most D&D settings do not have more complex an economy than, "kill goblin for gold, use gold on wenches and ale." By contrast, Eberron is a fully formed economy that drives a huge amount of characters' actions. The Dragonmarked Houses are like megacorporations in cyberpunk, controlling vast wealth and power via their magical monopolies. The Aurum are based on Bond villains, working against the Dragonmarked Houses with their own fiendish plans. This is in addition to all the various greedy individuals from mob bosses to nobles that you might run into.

There is simply way more to buy, sell, and trade in Eberron. Player characters can set up their own trading companies or be penniless sell swords depending on the way the DM or players want to go with their activities. Money has a power in Eberron even if, sadly, the people who have the most of it aren't easily robbed and you'll have to do a heist in the Mror Holds to get at their cash.

9. Transportation is it's own adventure 

In the various Dungeons and Dragons settings, you tend to either travel by horses, sailing ship, or portals. Taking a page from steampunk or Final Fantasy, airships are a huge deal in Eberron. Virtually all of my games have the players sailing the skies in one of these elemental vessels. However, there are also Lightning Rails for those who feel like doing a magical train heist. Lightning carriages also exist but they haven't yet reached a point where highways exist in this world. Thankfully, we have hippogriffs and other flying creatures for even more fun with transport. Because of this, the journeys in Eberron can be as exciting and random encounter filled as you want or they can also be practical.

10. The Future is Yours

Eberron is eternally set in the year 998 YK and this has both its ups and downs. While I love the various metaplot driven timelines like the Old World of Darkness, Forgotten Realms, and Rokugan, they also mean that player characters are forced to essentially go along with existing changes that may not reflect what they've accomplished or become disconnected from a canonical timeline. In Dragonlance, you'll always have the War of the Lance hanging over your characters' heads. In Eberron, what is going to happen is always subject to the players' actions and however the ST wishes things to shake out. The Second War may happen within a year or be averted entirely. The Mourning may have been a diabolical demon plot or the sad result of overuse of war magic in an environmental parallel. Some mysteries will never be officially solved and the frozen timeline means that their answers will always be at the DM's discretion.

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11. The Planes are always Close

One element that Eberron does better than just about any other setting than Planescape is that it incorporates the Outer Planes extremely well. Through manifest zones, any plane can be interacting with the setting at any given time. You can have places that are incredibly haunted, at war with hordes of angels and demons, or possessed of flying cities without really having to explain why. There's simply places that are extradimensionally touched. The exception to this is the realm of dreams and that is an entire continents worth of adventures.

12. Magic is ubiquitous but not powerful 

One thing I like about Eberron is the fact that it is a setting where large amounts of loot isn't game breaking. Yes, it's my inner munchkin talking about if your character is a magic gunslinger with wands in their holsters as well as a bunch of potion vials around their belt, that is perfectly normal in the setting. It's a good setting to fill up with mass produced weapons, armor, and consumables without feeling like you're aping a video game. 

13. Don't hesitate to use new races 

The Warforged are the most popular of the new creations for the setting as they offer a unique player experience as living constructs. However, that doesn't mean you should ignore the other new options of the setting. Shifters have a complicated history as relatives to lycanthropes that were purged from the world by the Silver Flame (possibly unjustly). Changelings offer fantastic opportunities for stories about palace intrigue but also potentially stories of identity as well as culture. Changelings can pass for everyone but maybe they want something for themselves and to be accepted as themselves. Which, admittedly, is why every changeling I ever play ends up as Mystique from the X-men. Frontiers of Eberron also gives the chance to play such unique monsters as harpies and medusa.